Author: Jehans Jr Storvik

A website with information on how to use tools, and do mechanic work in general with the main focus on cars. This blog is written by a 24 year old computer programmer and amateur mechanic. I have worked on cars since the age of 16, and I learned everything from scratch by myself working on 1990-2000 BMWs.
I started with simple operations, and these days I can do engine swaps/rebuilds, suspension overhaul, and building amateur race cars with forced induction.
I am a 24 year old computer programmer, and amateur mechanic from Norway. My interest for mechanics started as a child when I disassembled our familys lawnmower to study how it worked. I never got it working again. As I turned 15, I started working on two stroke dirtbikes, and I found the tuning part especially fun.
However, a manual 94' BMW E36 325i acquired at the age of 18 turned this interest into a passion. I have since attempted to do all maintenance and mechanical operations myself, to gain further knowledge.
These days I am able to do nearly all maintenance by myself, and other things such as:
-Engine swaps
-Tuning using forced induction, or cam swaps.
-Suspension overhauls
-Basic welding and cutting.
-Basic wire and electric knowledge.
-Basic ECU tuning

Auto repairs

“What tools do I need for doing auto repairs, and what tasks should I start with?” is a question often heard by people wanting to start doing their own repairs.. It isn’t easy to answer such a question, but I will try my best to do so in this blogpost.

What tools do I need

Even the best mechanic in the world, needs a set of tools. However, what tools do you need? I believe this can be defined by the three questions below.

What auto repair do you plan to do?

First of all, what auto repair do you plan doing? This is directly related to what tools you need. Thoroughly inspect the part itself, and area around it if possible before starting. A part is mounted to your auto using a variety of methods. Examples are bolts, nuts, glue, or hose clamps.Continue reading “Start doing auto repairs yourself”

Wrenching fails are the worst.

Wrenching fails are extremely annoying. You start doing something, and end up having to spend more time and money to fix it again because you broke something while working. Maybe you filled gas instead of diesel, or maybe you had to wait a week for that new oring that you broke during disassembly when you actually need your car in the morning.

Covered in this article are the top 5 wrenching fails that I have made during my mechanical career that cost me time, money, or both. When it comes to DIY Mechanics, you sometimes have to fail in order to learn. Learn from my wrenching fails.

Introduction

A socket wrench is a tool used for tightening, or loosening a bolt. It is a wrench, with a given size socket at the end of it. With a regular wrench, you have to physically lift the wrench and readjust it back to your starting position. With a socket wrench, this can be done without lifting the ratchet or socket at all due to a special locking mechanism found in the ratchet head.

Using a socket wrench is quicker, and less troublesome than using a regular wrench. Ratchets also has the advantage of having a better handle than a wrench, and comes in different lenghts. Length directly correlates to the amount of torque you can apply(Longer = more torque), making it easier to use the correct one for your application.Continue reading “What is a socket wrench, and how does it work?”

Introduction

TL;DR at the bottom. Also, ctrl+f to search for the wanted plier.

Pliers are simple, but extremely useful tools for any mechanic. The idea of a plier is very simple, which is to give the mechanic a way to hold or bend an object. Pliers give a mechanical advantage above using your bare hands, by allowing more strength and precision to be applied.

Many types of pliers exists, and created to complete a certain task. Most pliers are created using the same basic idea, which is to intertwine two levers of a certain length to gain mechanical advantage. Found at the end are jaws that allow the pliers to gain greater grip on an item. Other types of jaws exist, and are covered further down the article.

I never thought that I could use a wrench wrong. After several rounded bolts through my time, I googled “How to use a wrench” with several interesting results telling me how I had been wrong all my life. In this article, we will talk about the regular wrench, with one open, and one closed end.

Oh, and a TL;DR can be found at the bottom.

Basics

But lets start out with the basics. A wrench is used to apply more torque to a bolt or nut, than you could do with your bare hands. Always make sure that your wrench is fully seated on the bolt or nut before applying torque.Continue reading “How to use a wrench”